How to Find the Middle of a Phrase in Deep House Global CD Pool August 2019

0:00 I get this question asked me all the time

I get this question asked me all the time. You're halfway through a track and you have no idea when the next phrase is coming in and you're almost like on the cue every single beat. Is it there? Is it there? Is it there? Is it there? And all of a sudden it appears and you miss it and then you've got to wait for the next one. Well, there are many ways of finding out where the next phrase will start but also there are signs to when the next phrase will start. Even before the next phrase starts, it could be actually in the middle of a phrase. There'll be some kind of subliminal audio sign and I'm going to show you exactly how to find those signs and what they could be. Now I've got some tunes here from CDPool. These are the global releases for August 2019 and as ever...

There is a small little code there, so if you are going to be a first time user with CDPool, if you type in that code once asked for the first time, you will get 50% off what you buy. Now that's pretty good actually, so if it was 100 it'll be 50 and if it was 50 it'll be 25 and if it was nothing it'll be bugger all. But, right let's get to the tutorial. Right, the first tune I'm using is Alex Preston, a track entitled Gonna Find A Way. It's the original mix and I'm now going to play just from the beginning. Okay, so let's just listen to this. It's a beat, coffee, gimme nose, sorry. Nothing really exciting there but already I've had a clue as to where quite possibly the middle of this phrase could be. Did you hear it? Now you'll find this with a lot of tracks that start off with just a kick.

2:38 Just try and listen for that kind of change in the track

The producer will add just a little twist to that beat halfway through the phrase and I'll show you exactly where it is. Now I'm also going to count the bars, of course a bar is the count of four and a phrase in a track could be anything from two bars to 64 bars or 128 bars or like 6,543,500 but just kidding about that. Let's have a listen. Listen. Now that, believe it or not, is the middle of the phrase. So we counted up to eight and we had that slight change in the drum pattern. And then it carried on the normal drum pattern. And then we had a new phrase. So, here's a bit of a tip for you. When you're listening to a track, for example, you bugger off to the toilet, you come back, where are you? Just try and listen for that kind of change in the track. It could be an extra big hand clap or two hand claps or a change in the beat of the track or even could be a change in the melody, a really big change. Then don't definitely think that that's right, that's it, that's the middle of the phrase. Just bear that in mind and maybe start counting from that point. And sure enough...

You will get to maybe a 4, 8, 16, 32 and there will be another change. So always remember with dance music, it's not odd, it's even. It's not going to be a 9, a 7, a 3 or a 15. It's going to be a 2, 4, 8, 12 sometimes, 16, 24. And the biggest numbers to remember are going to be 8 and 16. So let's carry on with this tune here, just play a bit more. Now again, these global releases are more your deep house, soulful house, very melodic. You know, not big, not big full room things. They're more like chilled out, the sort of tunes that you'd hear maybe in Ibiza as the sun's going down before people start going out and partying like mad. These are your sort of listenable dance kind of tunes, yeah? Not full on like...

5:50 There, in time, in phrase and in key

Sorry. Alright, let's find something that will go in with this one. So this one here, like I said, you've got to find a way. At the moment I'm going to be randomly selecting a tune. Okay, here we go. Loosen control of the original mix. We're in the red there. Okay, let's do that. That's right. Wait for that new phrase. Listen. There, in time, in phrase and in key. Now what I did with Loosing Control is I waited for that melody to come in. Have a listen. Bit of a melody. Let's go right back to the beginning of the track. OK, nothing wrong with starting it here. This almost could be the part of the track where you'd be mixing it in beat on your headphones. And then as soon as that melody came in, volume up and away you go. Alright, so let's speed this one forward a bit. Let's find something that'll go with this. More of an uplift. This will go but we'll see. So I might do track five. Bearing in mind all the ones I'm playing are just now at their best glory at the moment.

8:04 Fill the music, the original mix, this one here

The DJ tutorial by Ellaskins, The DJ Tutor. Okay, this is going to be like a blend. So what I'm going to do, I'm going to go to Echo. Not there. I want to try and get it at the end of a phrase, so let's skip this forward. Okay, so what I try to do there is mix it melodically. I didn't bother with mixing, getting the beats right because a good mix isn't always about just getting it on the one perfectly in time, BPM the same, everything. Sometimes a good mix is about... The vibe and the energy it gives you, and finding that moment in a track where you just got a change and you bring that exchange into the other track. Okay, fill the music, the original mix, this one here. I think this epitomizes the, no I nearly said the underground there, the global series. Really soulful some of the tracks and melodic and just, but not big, not loads of mad production. It's almost like the producers are there.

10:08 Let's find something to go with this one

With a big fat joint in the room, just go, yeah man, let's just play some really nice beats. Let's go for it. Having said that though, I do want to play this for you. Okay, we'll bring that one down. No mixing here or anything. A very good friend of mine, Mr Lenny Fontana, Shirley Lights here. So Lenny Fontana and Shirley Lights. Yeah, Shirley Lights, Dragon Tart of Fire. So if you're into your old school disco, then this is the one. Let's find something to go with this one. Maybe towards the end, whether it be the underground, the urban, the dance, the club or in this case the global, all of the tracks you get on that particular month you can do a little mix with all the tracks so you don't have to start thinking I've got a whole bunch of tracks from one month and

I can't do anything with them. You can pretty much take all of those tracks and make a mix, probably using the entire selection for that month. Alright, so that's enough for this. Don't forget, that is the code. I can't stress this enough. I mean, you know, you've heard the term staring a gift horse in the mouth. So, for example, someone comes up to you and says, listen, here is something for free or at a reduced price, and you go, no, bugger off. You're an idiot. Alright, so there it is. There's a code DJTutor. It will be in the link of the description. If you are a first-time user to CDPool, you will get 50% off your first month's subscription. Bearing in mind as well, you need to be a working DJ and also you need to be in the European Union. So, you know, that's France, Germany, Italy. I have no idea what's happening with Brexit. Don't ask me. It's like top of my head.

And that's about it. So there you go, have some fun, boogie down and get those dance floors burning with fire. Shirley Lights, Lenny Fontana, practice and enjoy. Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.